Railroad to Hell
by TheKyttin13
Summary: Head steam locomotive engineer Anna takes on the task of commandeering a consist of railcars containing "precious cargo" as it journeys down a mountain. Lady Elsa Arendelle, sole inheritor to the Arendelle Estate and its wealth, elects to negotiate business aboard a train as she journeys to a station eight hours away. Unrelated Characters, AU story, rated T for Tentative
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This will be brief, as I only have two things to say. 1: I'm still working on The Slipshod Collection and have a story in the works at present. 2: I sincerely hope you enjoy the story I've slowly begun concocting in my head. **_

_**Here's hoping it looks as decent to you all as it does to me. Will be a multichapter story.**_

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><p>04:47, Arendelle Switcher's Yard.<p>

The murky twilight permitted a low-hanging fog to waft over the ground amid a series of trees and rail ties. Rails forged from heated iron and pressed into their characteristic shape lay in a linked line, spread exactly one thousand four hundred thirty-five millimetres apart in parallel lines tied by two hundred millimetre spikes driven through rail ties to anchor the lines to the ground below. The track, originally laid a mere twenty-six years prior, served as the heart of Norway's new mainline for railroad transit, an icon in modern technology.

At the head of the track, a short one mile north of Arendelle Station, lay a roundhouse full of steam-powered rail locomotives. Each stall was assigned a number, all corresponding to the massive iron horse housed beyond. Turnstiles one, two, and three were unassigned, as more engines were yet to be built or imported for use on the line. Turnstile four, the last of the stalls in the small but proud roundhouse, housed the only engine ever to gain enough precedence to deserve a protected shelter from the harsh elements outside.

Slogging through the frigid winter air at the unsightly hour so early that Tuesday morning was a small team of only three individuals, each bundled up under heavy furs gleaned from their shared home that morning. They were due to partake in a long leg of transit that would expend nearly a full day's worth of hours before acquiring a scheduled rest stop near Norway's southern shore, right at the boundary between the motherland and Sweden to the east.

Leading the crew was a dark-skinned man with a long, heavy stride. The man, decked in thick winter clothing but with shoddy boots in need of replacement, carried a large, red toolbox, as agreed upon by the others in the group. The man, given the name Sven at birth, hefted the box with ease, crunching through the crisp fog of the biting morning. He would be the conductor of the entourage, ensuring that everything to the rear of the convoy would hold the same attitude as that in the front.

Immediately behind the large, dark man was one of only slightly less build and stature, though with fair skin and light hair to reflect his Swedish heritage. He carried a crowbar in one hand and a large satchel over his shoulder, burdens that unfortunately would fail to fit inside the toolbox. His christening, Kristoff, was one often confused with the more Western homonym of Christopher, a fact he was all-too-willing to impress upon those who would slight his name. He would be the fireman of the group, seeing to it that the engine would be well fed and kept moving so long as was deemed necessary.

The final member, lagging by only a step, had hidden a shock of tumultuous red hair inside an insulated bonnet lined with fox fur and goose down. She stood only at the chests of her two companions, carrying nothing in her hands but a meek pair of black rubber bands concealed within her thick gloves to keep warm. She, the engineer, would be leading the crew through a successful run from Arendelle Station south through Skymning Station, into Omsorg Abbey and finally out to the outpost of Svart. Each of the three legs of the journey would consist of nearly eight hours of transit from station to station, despite having the advantage of modern steam propulsion and a well-respected downhill grade to their advantage. The uphill journey, to take place after regrouping for four days in Svart, would take a further two days with a stopover in Omsorg to prepare for the hillclimb ahead. Anna had already calculated the amount of wood that would be necessary to run the consist down the hill, having spent a handful of hours the day before making sure everything would be smoothly arranged for the run.

04:49, Arendelle Switcher's Yard.

The crew arrived at the roundhouse, noting that all four sets of the massive double-doors were closed to shield against the snow. They also noted the snow drift piled some four feet high from the precipitation that had fallen overnight. Sven groaned.

"Great. Now we will have to dig her out before we can get going."

Kristoff sighed as he stopped beside his conductor, looking up at the man with empathy etched into his face. "It shouldn't be very long. We can get this cleared up in about fifteen minutes. It'll keep us warm, too."

Anna marched past them, heading for the unblocked side door of the shed. "We can't stand out here in the cold bickering about what ought to be done and what not ought to be done. Sven, pop the key and open that lock. Kristoff, come help me run the preliminaries. Once that door is unlocked, we can nudge it open with our girl."

"Won't that break the doors?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Hop to it."

Sven strode toward the door and keyed the lock open, recuperating the frigid steel clasp and the chain it congealed. He added it to the ten metres of chain already housed within the toolbox, kept close by in case it should be needed. He then joined his crew mates inside the engine shed, lighting a cigarette in the corner as he watched the two engine workers run their checks.

"Okay, Kris, the firebox looks okay. How's everything in the cab?"

Anna had slid between the rails to enter a pit four feet deep beneath the massive steam locomotive and her tender, scanning the bottom of the vehicle manually to check for leaks or damage. Kristoff, from the cab, set about testing valve handles and levers to validate the integrity of the controls.

"Everything seems functional up here."

"When we get back from Svart, we'll need to get some new brake shoes on this one. She's looking a bit slippery."

"Should we do it now before the journey just in case?"

"There will be plenty of reserve shoe left to slow us in case of trouble. I don't think we'll need to be using them all that much, all things considered."

At the ripe age of just four, Anna had managed to learn from her dearly departed father how to operate and maintain a rail vessel. He had been lead engineer on the Swedish mainline for years, a position he had relinquished to a younger official only upon death due to what physicists had determined was a heart failure. Anna had then gone through formal training and had passed exams with flying colors, marking her Norway's first female engineer. Kristoff had become her subordinate when she was asked to take on an apprentice, and Sven had requested permission to join the team due to his longstanding friendship with the blonde. All three had formed a diligent, working team that had served the mainline of Norway for four years, and the twenty-year-old engineer had not once missed a deadline or violated a schedule.

"You can control her that well?"

"I learned to operate this exact model of engine, Kris. Papa used to drive one and taught me how to use the boiler to keep speed rather than the brakes."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing."

"I wouldn't be driving her if I didn't."

04:54, Arendelle Switcher's Yard.

The brief checkup completed, Anna clambered into the cab to observe the dials. The train indicated a half-full supply of water, and the nearly-empty tender behind mandated the necessity of refueling before the journey. She stacked kindling in the firebox, starting a small but sure blaze that would eventually roar to life. She turned to Kristoff.

"Now we give 'er a few minutes to thaw out and she'll be ready to go."

"Is it strange for you to call a steam locomotive a female when you are one as well?"

"My gender and my engine's gender are independent of one another." She snorted a breath, then spat out a glistening wad of phlegm. "But for all intents and purposes of this vehicle, I should like to think I have enough masculinity over her to call her a girl, wouldn't you think?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Just an observation." He hefted a log from the depths of the tender and slid it into the firebox, feeding the kindling. The blaze began to burn a bit brighter.

"Sven, you may wish to join us lest we leave you behind."

He laughed, a loud bark that echoed in the near-silent shed. "Leave _me_ behind? You'd have better luck pluckin' the scales offa fish when it's swimmin'"

Anna laughed. "Can't fault me for trying. Get on."

Kristoff hefted another log into the firebox.

05:01, Arendelle Switcher's Yard.

The fire had begun to roar, prompting Anna to release the boiler's water supply into the heating chamber. The thawed ice slowly gurgled into the heating chamber, melting into warm water that quickly rose to beyond boiling temperatures. Pressure began to build, prompting Anna to release a second valve and allow the heated steam and air to flood the main cylinder chamber, where the mechanically-operated valves under the force of a linked pivot arm would open and close, directing the train's pistons to push and pull in their housings and drive the wheels into movement. The beast began to hiss as pressure continued to mount.

Anna gently coaxed the steam to build tension in the pistons until the engine began to ease forward. The coupling handle at the rear of the locomotive cinched up with the tender, and the two-unit consist crept toward the doors. Two piloting wheels on a single axle under the snowplow, followed by four sets of driving wheels each standing at two thousand millimetres tall, taller than all members of the crew, all turned in perfect harmony as the gleaming drive rods attached to the massive driving wheels began to push. One massive machine, all parts working in unison, the pinnacle of modern innovention.

The front buffer plates, designed to keep other parts of the attached consist from getting too close to the engine during transit, lightly kissed against the massive wooden shed doors, the slats creaking from the slight pressure. Anna decreased her steam pressure allowance, and the doors began to groan.

"Low speed, low power, maximum traction…the doors should open with no trouble."

Both of the doors, sentries to guard the inside of the shed from the outside, began to seam at the center and gradually let in the pervasive layer of fog as they parted. The engine puffed and began to hiss at the mounting pressure, leading Anna to recycle the water through ducts outside the boiler to prevent it from getting too hot and bursting part of the structure. The snow began to crunch and crackle as it became compressed away from the doors and track, and with a final shudder the rift parted, allowing the enormous black locomotive the clearance necessary to push onto the turntable outside. The table groaned as the locomotive passed its heft onto the turntable and crossed the span. The doors clattered shut as the tender passed onto the table.

"And that, gents, is how you use a train to move some snow. Work smart, not hard."

The iron wheels crept slowly forward, permitting the train to cross the main switching point between the engine roundhouse and the switching yard across the line.

"We'll just do a once-over on the cars and then we should be good to go," Sven said. Kris nodded.

"Let's go start on that. Anna, when you get past the point I'll reverse it for you and guide you to the coupler."

Both men slipped from opposite sides of the engine, Kristoff moving toward the point adjuster while Sven headed to check on the consist. The tender's four axles crept over the switch, squeaking and clacking as the track joiners depressed lightly on the frozen rail bed and earth below.

As soon as the rear bogie crossed the point, Kristoff rotated the catch and set the guide rail into place. Anna flipped the valves controlling the pistons and began applying reverse pressure to the drivers, slowing the train to a stop to begin creeping backward. She watched Kristoff adjust two more switches and the first of the five passenger cars came into view in the murk.

"Open that coupling," she called. Kristoff raised a thumb and wrenched on a steel lever, the coupling handle sliding open. He then jogged to the tender and forced a similar lever to open, and the mating halves closed around each other with a grating clunk. Anna had dropped all pressure and set the valves back to normal, letting the locomotive come to a halt. She checked to make sure the boiling water was circulating to and from the boiler, using the near-freezing air to regulate the temperature and keep the engine from getting too hot.

"Alright, so, what's the final?"

"Everything looks good down here! Emergency brakes are ready, bogies look good, cars are all clean and ready to go. I'm headed for the caboose; I'll come running if anything goes wrong."

"Keep in touch, Sven. Kris will be around periodically to give you updates. Blondie, get up here! Let's get going so we can finish setup at Arendelle!"

Kristoff leapt aboard the train as Anna tugged the whistle cable, letting a shrill, piercing blast of sound echo throughout the twilight. At 05:11 hours, Anna and her crew in a train of six cars and one massive, powerful steam locomotive set out on the short journey to Arendelle Station to continue the preparation of their train's cars in anticipation of the long journey ahead.

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><p><em><strong>I can't recall if anyone has done a story with either character as a railworker, but this is my attempt at it. I've outlined the entire work, and I'm partway into Chapter 4 at the moment. Chapters for this one will sadly be left untitled, which means no hints at what follows. I'd offer traditional versus non-traditional pairings, but I presently don't think they will become relevant or important in this story.<strong>_

_**Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I'm all ears...eyes...whichever. ~Kyttin**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I noticed there are at least three people who had the heart to follow this story, and to those three I thank you very much. Hopefully this second chapter starts kicking things into motion a bit more and introduces the way the story will progress from here out. I apologize if the snippet format isn't to your liking, but it's easiest for me.**_

_**This is kinda written like a documentary, so...sorry if it's unappetizing mentally.**_

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><p>06:27, en route to Arendelle Station.<p>

The large, spoke-laden wheels of the horse-drawn carriage clattered along the muddy cobble as the two black Kallblodstravare tugged it toward Arendelle Station. At the reins sat a portly man with a ruddy complexion and a half-ring of orange (greying) hair around the crown of his skull. The sun had only shortly begun to shine, but the sheen of sweat across his forehead and the hair-free nature of the dome above had already begun to shine in the light. His tweed jacket, adorned only with two buttons and two large pockets, laid over a simple pressed white shirt, a small black bowtie, checked pants and leather loafers. He gazed blearily off at the sun as he followed the road to his destination, city-bound toward the only train station for many miles.

Inside the darkened windows of the carriage, the imposing black shell with thick, black curtains revealing nothing about the occupants, sat two women. One, the wife of the usher guiding the horses, had a shapely build and iron-gray hair. Her dark green wide-brimmed hat, designed to block the sun, matched the fitted dress she wore, right down to the mint-colored lace frill at her neck and the emerald brooch on her lapel. She peeked out the window to check their relative proximity to the station, though the sight of trees and shrubbery imposing upon the edges of the scant roadway gave her little reassurance that the city was any closer than it had been fifteen minutes prior when they left the estate.

Opposite the elder woman sat her employer and the lone inheritor to the Arendelle name. A frail figure, dressed in a very conservative high-necked black corset with a dark green velvet bodice and skirt. The train to the rear of the dress had been cut short so as to suggest power and efficacy but not overbearing royalty. Tulle had been used to fluff the inside of the ankle-length skirt away from black hosen and polished black flats. Both pale, slender arms fed into small, delicate hands clasped gently in her lap. Her back, straight as an iron fire poker, held her round head aloft, the pale skin wrapped softly over her lithe frame to create soft, round cheeks set high on their bones and large, perceptive blue eyes above lightly-dotted freckles and a thin nose with a light turn to its tip. As she sat, her eyes remained closed, back straight, the only movements to grace her figure being her slow, deep breaths and the light toss of the carriage.

"Are we almost to the station?" the woman inquired.

"If we are on schedule, we should arrive shortly," her opposite replied, twitching the curtain once more. A single shaft of the early morning sunlight traced across the thin woman's almost translucent hair, so pale a shade of blonde it appeared almost white. The owner of the snowy hair sighed.

"I told Kai we should have left ten minutes sooner, Gerda. I cannot afford to miss this train or the business proposition to Weselton might not come to fruition."

"I understand that, Lady Arendelle, but you will arrive far earlier than the other passengers hoping to board this train. You already have a guaranteed seat in the First Class carriage, and the station master has been instructed not to permit the train to depart until you've been secured aboard. Everything will work out just fine."

"So long as I'm not late. And it isn't Lady Arendelle; I haven't attained that title. It's Lady Elsa."

"Well, Lady Elsa, speaking on behalf of your late mother, it would serve you well to perhaps learn some patience and to have confidence in those who aren't yourself. One person alone could not make the world continue to spin were it not for the forces of nature to aid him."

"Or her."

"Or her," Gerda agreed.

Two sharp raps sounded on the roof of the carriage and the wheels grated to a halt. Within thirty seconds, the door popped open.

"Nurse Gerda, Lady Arendelle, we have arrived at Arendelle Station."

Gerda stepped out first "She prefers Lady Elsa, Kai."

"Apologies. Lady Elsa, your train awaits."

The pale, slender heir to the Arendelle name stepped lightly from the carriage, her dress hovering mere inches from the dirt-infused road below. "Sakes, it is rather rank here."

"We are still in the street, ma'am. Perhaps crossing onto the platform will make you feel a bit better."

"Hmph."

Kai withheld a sigh as his young charge slowly made her way up the steps toward the station house. He whistled to a young boy lounging by the fence separating the street from the tracks beyond.

"Keep these horses fed and watered until we return in about a week and there shall be a handsome reward from the Arendelle estate."

The boy's eyes widened and he saluted, leading the horses and their carriage away to presumably keep safe until they returned. Kai then trekked up the stairs with carriage bags under each arm, laden with clothes for both his charge and his posse (consisting of himself and his wife). He found Gerda and Lady Elsa standing near the ticket counter, the former looking a bit distraught and the latter looking fairly blasé.

"Problem, ladies?"

"They say the First Class carriage has been booked."

Kai reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and produced three tickets, handing them all to Gerda. "I was down here a week ago handling this issue for Lady Elsa so that her journey might be made all-the-smoother."

"Apologies," Gerda said, a slight formal bow at her waist. Normally, she would not have shown such brisk formality to her husband, but both recognized their proximity to their esteemed employer, and neither could afford to be relieved of duty for a conduct mishap.

"Now, shall we take our seats? We have two rooms we may occupy, one of which can be used for Lady Elsa to conduct her business with the Weselton representative. If Lady Elsa is comfortable enough being on her own outside the course of the meeting, we can surely leave her to her musings, but if she would prefer to have aid at her service at all times one or both of us may stay to accompany her."

Their formalized third-person conversation had to be maintained at all times to avoid sidelong glances from their employer, lest a demerit or other punishment of mild to severe impact be dealt. The heir cleared her throat after a moment of consideration.

"I will decide that upon the completion of my meeting with the Weselton representative. If I deem the train to be safe, you will be permitted to liberate yourselves from my presence to do whatever you may like, so long as you remember that your actions are a direct reflection upon me."

The thinly-veiled implication of her conclusion did not weigh heavily upon their shoulders; both of her employees had only gotten as far for as long by simply being the best their Lady could ever have asked for, and though the words of caution were according to standard Arendellan protocol and instruction from prior parenting, they needn't have been said even for the utmost of care to be taken.

"Then let us be aboard this fine machine. We shouldn't keep our confidante waiting," Gerda urged. The trio passed onto the platform via the station's rear set of doors and maneuvered toward the open, waiting doors of the First Class coach. Standing at the door to the coach was a thin man with dark brown hair and a crisp, navy-colored uniform. He nodded at each of the three tickets presented to him, clipping them with a pair of scissors before permitting the group to board. It was at this point that Lady Elsa took a short moment to deviate.

"Leave my ticket with me. I'll have it clipped in a moment after I've had a word with the engineer."

She then strode toward the front of the train with her usual unhurried, prim gait. Upon passing the gap between the First Class coach and the train's tender, a man with unruly blonde hair and a soot-covered face emerged seemingly from nowhere, hands up, gloved fingers spread as he waved them back and forth.

"Woah, woah woah woah, woah, lady. Can't have you going that way; the locomotive is off-limits to civilians. Wouldn't want you to get hurt or run over by it. Please, return to your coach."

"I merely wish to speak to the engineer of this train," Elsa stated, only a mild hint of irritation at the edge of her voice.

"Aye, she's tied up readying the engine for the journey," the blonde man said, and from around the front of the snowplow strode a woman with hair the color of molten embers and skin like that of a peach. The black, grease-soaked gloves on her hands were being used to aid in wiggling and shifting portions of the train, and at one point the covered hands dug their way between the reflective metal rods and their attached black driving wheel counterparts, tossing the joint to and fro as the small amount of weight loosened the friction of the point. Without a word or heed of warning, Elsa approached the edge of the platform, the ten-foot drop forming a line with the boarding ledge of the cab. She cleared her throat and called out.

"You there, with the red hair. Are you the engineer?"

"Hey, get away from the edge!" the blonde called, jogging toward the well-dressed woman. The woman at the drive wheels turned her head, arms thoroughly wedged into the spokes of the drivers as she groped blindly for something beyond.

"Well, I'm not down here doing last-minute checks on my engine just because I'm a tourist, so I suppose I'm the one driving this rig." She grunted, then with a jolt and a blast of heated steam was tossed back, stumbling over her feet. She coughed, waving the disarming fog from her vision and nostrils. Lady Elsa remained unimpressed.

"How soon do you believe we shall arrive at Skymning?"

The engineer clambered up the ladder at the edge of the platform, leveling off at the top. Her eyes sparkled with a passion Elsa had not known existed, one she had never managed to find for herself.

"Well, being that the train is scheduled to depart no sooner or later than oh-seven-hundred, we should be along at fifteen-hundred-eight, assuming all is well with the track from here to there."

"I see. And this is a one-way line down to Skymning without stops?"

"There isn't another station between here and Skymning, just two sidings for other trains to pass by. This particular train will be in Svart by this time tomorrow and will make its way back up to Skymning five and a half days later."

"And you can attest to the accuracy of that prediction with your job at stake?"

The woman laughed, a pure sound that held only mirth. "As sure as my hair is red and my eyes are blue. I'd shake your hand, Lady Arendelle, but mine are a bit covered in soot and grease, two things unbefitting a woman such as yourself."

Elsa had no comment or reaction to the engineer. Where such a woman had learned to operate a train, and where further she had learned how to keep a schedule to the minute, would remain a mystery so long as the questions remained unasked, and as the hour closed upon 07:00, Elsa decided to forego further inquiry and instead offer a simple huff before returning to the First Class carriage.

Kai and Gerda had spent the time settling the rooms, and the rounder of the two parties was to be found sitting opposite a small, large-nosed man with hair to rival Elsa's in color and Kai's in location. His spectacles offered him the appearance of a rather bewildered-looking dragonfly, or perhaps some species of fish, but the overall effect was equally repulsive on either count. Elsa blinked before sitting stiffly beside Kai, refusing to settle into the seat as the other two occupants had.

"Ah, and this must be Lady Arendelle herself, every bit as beautiful as her mother and grandmother before her."

It was only with good grace that Elsa avoided creating an unfavorable situation for herself. _My grandmother? If you're old enough to know her, you're probably old enough to tell me all about the war between the United States and Britain firsthand._

"So nice to meet you, Mister…?"

"I am the Duke of Weselton, Milady, and I have been sent on behalf of my province to hopefully establish a working trade agreement with you. I trust you have been keeping well?"

"Well enough to not fall terribly ill. If we could get to business and skip the pleasantries, please?"

"Of course, of course."

The sound of carriage doors closing redirected Elsa's attention momentarily, and the sound of a throaty "All Abooooaaard!" echoing down the length of the train indicated the start of her journey south, what would hopefully result in a successful trade agreement between the two business partners on an otherwise uneventful journey.

07:00, Arendelle Station.

The train emitted a shrill whistle as the pistons engaged, and with the first of a relentless number of thundering puffs, the train slid forward, departing Arendelle toward Skymning with all due haste.

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><p><em><strong>I know the conflict hasn't exactly arisen yet. Chapter 3 has more on that front.<br>**_

_**I'm also working on my extremely long one-shot again. Hopefully the 14'000 word story will be to someone's liking.**_

_**Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I'm all ears...eyes...whichever. ~Kyttin**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I have no real excuse as to why this took so long. For those in the Elsanna fandom, go check out "A Snowflake In Spring" and tell them that Kyttin sent you and that he's proud of Cel for not taking any shit.**_

_**In other news, Chapter 3 is now here. I'm trying to write chapter 5 with a cat bothering me. I don't know how well this'll go.**_

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><p>09:42, Skymning Station.<p>

The local siding at Skymning housed a 2-6-2 freight engine hooked to a string of tanker cars, all laden with petroleum byproducts obtained from the local petrol depot owned by the Southern Islets Refined Oil Company. Oil tycoon and father to thirteen children Piotr Urholka had entrusted the Swedish-Norway rail line to his youngest son Hans, a diligent young man with a strong desire to outshine his twelve older brothers and prove his worth to his father. The magnate had grand plans to extend his reach to Europe and the United States, but none of his children were trustworthy enough to offer key portions of the franchise.

Thus, Hans, with his iconic sideburns and charming grace, fired up his locomotive and began running checks and balances on the freight. All twelve of the oil tankers, filled to the brim with usable fossil fuels, gleamed in the light from the mid-morning sun. Hans cleared his throat, speaking to his scant crew in preparation of his journey.

"Alright, boys. There's a locomotive coming down from Arendelle with Her Royal Highness aboard, which means our journey out there will be temporarily sidelined while she passes. If we can leave at ten-hundred, we should be able to make good time and slide onto the siding in about three hours and let the southbound pass us by before resuming our journey. This is a precise operation that will require all of us to be alert and ready for anything. Is the consist ready?"

"Ready, sir."

"Alright. To your places. We leave at ten-hundred."

09:53, Skymning Station.

Seven minutes ahead of schedule, the train departed the station, chugging north along the second-steepest part of the line the Svart-bound passenger train would eventually cross.

"So Anna, how far along do you think we are?"

She finished tying her second braid and secured it with the second band, reading the gauges with light eyes. "I think we might be closing in on the halfway mark soon. Maybe a bit later than sooner. In any case, we should still be right along schedule."

Kristoff leaned out the window to the left side of the engine, observing the track beyond. "Hey, we have a carriage crossing ahead. Might want to slow a bit."

"The crossing?" Anna then thrust her head out the window and gazed at the sun in the sky, gauging it against the tree-line. "We're running a bit ahead of schedule, it seems."

She adjusted a pair of levers to relieve excess steam from the boiler and applied the brake shoes to the engine. With a loud grinding roar, the engine began to slow.

"…and thus we would feel highly gratified if you were included amongst our trading agreements as a subsidizer and monetary contributor."

Elsa nodded slowly, mulling the Duke's words over as she let her gaze drift out the window toward the flitting countryside. She felt the carriage beginning to slow, noting the dull grating echoing from the head of the train.

"I understand your proposal, Duke, but I am still unclear on the details. Perhaps you could speak a bit more in-depth about-"

The train lurched, a loud crunch echoing down from the engine. Elsa frowned, steadying herself as best she could in the swaying carriage. She watched Kai attempting to see down the line from the window.

"Kai, what do you see? What was that?"

"I…I don't know, Lady Elsa. I'm afraid I just don't know.

"Damnit!"

"Anna, what-"

"The brakes just blew. She's gonna pick up a lot of speed by the time we hit Skymning."

"Can she be slowed?"

"What, without brake shoes? She can, sure, but not by conventional means. Head back and tell Sven what's going on; he might have an idea. Until then, I'm leaving the pistons open. Perhaps she'll slow by rolling because of how heavy she is."

"Perhaps," Kristoff offered. He then clambered over the tender and toward the door of the first-class carriage.

Mid-sentence, both the Duke and Lady Elsa heard the distinct sound of rushing air followed by a slammed door. She stood, ducking her head into the hall only to see the disheveled blonde head approaching with due haste. She cleared her throat.

"Sir, might I inquire as to what…"

He had rushed past her without a backwards look. She slipped out of the compartment, dashing after him. She reached him as he reached the rear carriage door.

"Sir, you from the engine."

He paused in twisting the handle. "Milady, I would ask that you return to your compartment."

"I merely wish to inquire about what that noise was."

"There's no need for concern, Milady. Just a minor mechanical issue."

She scowled. "Am I to understand that you are withholding information from your superior?"

He sighed. "Lady Arendelle, please." He released the handle, turning to face her, his stature immediately superseding her own only in height. "I am not at liberty to answer any questions at this time. Please return to your seat."

He then turned and tossed the carriage door open, reaching across the gap to the next and sliding beyond the aperture before both sealed tightly shut. She huffed.

"The nerve of that man. I should have him charged with disrupting royalty."

A voice cleared its throat. "Lady Elsa, I believe you and the Duke of Weselton were in the midst of an important contractual negotiation?"

She sighed, composing her face before turning. "Yes, alright Kai. Best to get back to it."

"Sven, bad news."

The door banged shut. Sven stood, his chair twirling behind him on one leg as he dropped his half-read newspaper onto the table. "Bad news? What happened?"

"The shoes blew."

"All of 'em?" The look of shock on Sven's face was nothing to the seriousness on Kristoff's.

"Every single one. Blew free like a shot from a musket."

Sven brought a hand to his face, covering one eye and part of his mouth. "Fuck," he breathed. "What does this mean?"

"It means we presently have no way of slowing the train naturally. Anna has disengaged the pistons, but the train is heavy and the journey is downhill. We will gain more speed than is possible with fire by the time we reach the station if we don't do something."

"Relax, Kristoff. We aren't in a panic state yet. Anna knows how this train runs. She'll keep us safe. Suggest to her the brakes in the rest of the cars. Start with something practical before we try more drastic measures."

Kristoff nodded, bustling away. Sven sat down heavily in his chair.

"Valhalla, help us. Guide us through so that we might see another day. Grant us one shield during this critical time."

The instant the carriage door banged open for the second time, Elsa leapt from her seat and blocked the hallway to deny Kristoff passage. He scowled.

"Milady, if you would be so kind as to return to your seat, we may continue with an unhindered journey to Skymning."

"I respectfully refuse. Unfortunately, as you have failed to explain to me what is amiss aboard the train, I cannot sit down and ignore the sound and lurch that came from the engine. You will tell me what is happening, and you will do so now, lest I keep you here indefinitely."

She knew such a threat would likely be poorly received, especially given the burly nature of the man and the assumed importance of his journey along the train, but she desired an answer, and when Lady Elsa Arendelle desired an answer about something she usually received what she requested.

"You wish to know what is happening? The brake shoes aboard the engine have shattered. We presently only have the emergency brakes aboard each car to use for slowing under normal circumstance. We are attempting to control the situation at hand, but your constant impedance prevents me from returning to the engineer to report on our next plan of action. Now, if you would be so kind as to step out of my way and return to your seat, we can set about attempting to recover the train to a more suitable speed and level of control."

"So the consist is beyond your control, then? I'm aboard a runaway train?"

"If you were, I would not be here to talk to you at present. I know Anna, and she would never leave her train to run away without her. She will do everything that she is capable of to bring this consist to a halt at Skymning, and considering she grew up on this locomotive's sister, she is far more than capable of doing so."

Elsa was not dissuaded. "But the train is accelerating without power."

"We are currently travelling downhill and will continue to do so as long as we continue to approach Svart. We still have a great deal of time to assess our situation and bring the train to a halt before our speed becomes uncontrollable. You needn't worry yourself with our affairs, Milady. We have this under control."

She shifted closer to her compartment, letting Kristoff nudge past and continue toward the engine with quick, long strides.

10:43, southern siding between Arendelle and Skymning.

A group of children, no more than twelve years of age, laughed and jumped around the railroad tracks away from the watchful gaze of their parents.

"They say you can feel a train coming when the track rumbles."

All children put their ears to the track, listening for vibration. When nothing was heard, the two elder boys of the group sprang up and began spinning around the point controller, tossing the switching track left and right as they spun.

"Berlioz, Toulouse, you shouldn't be doing that!"

"Oh, pipe down Marie. We're just playing."

"Yeah, just playing!"

The boys released the switch, approaching their sister's frowning face. Several of the other children were standing behind her, all looking on in wonder.

"Fine. We'll leave the stupid thing alone since you're being a brat about it."

The boys then proceeded to run back into the forest from whence they'd come toward the little town of Livendahl, unaware that a terrible travesty had just been unleashed.

Because the switch controller, left unlocked but twisted toward the siding, was not completely set in place, and the floating point could only serve to disserve the oncoming trains.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Whoop de doo. Now some of the conflict comes to light. And yeah, I've decided to make all of this shit up, else I'd be using Oslo as my ending city (because it actually exists up there). Hope you come back for more. ~Kyttin<strong>_


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